Container and electronic apparatus assembly comprising the same

ABSTRACT

A container for accommodating an electronic device and an electronic apparatus assembly comprising the container are provided. The container comprises a body and a heat exchange unit connected to the body. The body forms a closed space for receiving the electronic device. The heat exchange unit operatively guides the heat generated by the electronic device from the closed space to the exterior of the body. Thereby, the electronic device can be isolated and cooled within the closed space.

This application claims the benefit of the priority based on TaiwanPatent Application No. 099144345 filed on Dec. 17, 2010, the disclosureof which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a container and an electronic apparatusassembly comprising the same. The container forms a closed space forreceiving and cooling the electronic device.

2. Descriptions of the Related Art

Because of the advancement of science and technology and diversifiedneeds of the users, various portable electronic devices can be foundalmost everywhere in daily life. Particularly, with the widespread useof projectors, images can now be displayed and projected according tothe users' needs and location.

Due to the improvement in both the performance of light sources andresolution, projectors have superior performance in displayinglarge-sized frames and also have low costs. Therefore, projectors havefound widespread application not only in indoor environments suchoffices or homes, but also in many outdoor environments such as outdooractivity spaces, metro lines or stations. However, outdoor environmentalconditions are not as stable as indoor environmental conditions, andunfavorable factors such as dusts, insects or moisture have imposedlimitations on the use of the projectors.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a conventional projector 1. A lot ofoptical components (e.g., the light source, variety of opticalcomponents and the like) are disposed in the projector 1 to finallyproject a display frame from a lens 15. During the operation of theprojector 1, intense heat is generated by the internal opticalcomponents. The accumulation of the intense heat has an undesirableinfluence on the service life of the projector 1. Therefore, toeffectively decrease the temperature inside the projector 1, a fan 13 isusually provided at the airflow inlet 111 of the housing 11. When thefan 13 operates, an airflow 2 is drawn from the outside into the airflowinlet 111 and then blown towards an airflow outlet 113. With active heatdissipation, the operating temperature inside the projector 1 can bedecreased.

However, a conventional projector 1 introduces air from the outside intothe projector 1 to form an airflow 2 by means of the fan 13, soconceivably, after using the projector 1 for a period of time, dustswill accumulate in the internal optical components to impose anundesirable influence on the light-emitting efficiency and the servicelife of the projector 1. When the projector 1 is disposed in an outdooractivity space, a metro line or a station or even in more severeenvironments such as fields, pollution of the internal opticalcomponents by dusts will become more of an issue.

A conventional solution to this problem is to dispose a filter screen onthe airflow inlet 11 of the projector 1. Then, when the airflow 2 isintroduced by the fan 13, dusts are filtered by the filter screen 17 toprevent pollution to the internal optical components. However, thedisadvantage of using a filter screen is that the filter screen has tobe replaced frequently, which is especially the case when a projector isdisposed in an outdoor activity space. Otherwise, too much dust willaccumulate on the filter screen to block the effective intake of theairflow, which causes overheating of the projector. Moreover, the filterscreen only provides a limited filtration effect; more specifically, afilter screen with a large mesh size provides a poor filtering effect ofdust, while a filter screen with a small mesh size may not completelyfilter out dust but also presents an undue resistance to the coolingairflow.

Accordingly, an urgent need exists in the art to provide a solution thatcan effectively cool the electronic device while still preventing theaccumulation of dust in the electronic device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An objective of the present invention is to provide a container and anelectronic apparatus assembly comprising the same. The container forms aclosed space. When the electronic device is disposed in the container,the electronic device can be completely isolated from the outside andthe cleanliness of the closed space can be maintained to prevent foreignmaterials such as dust and stives from polluting the electronic device.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide a container andan electronic apparatus assembly. The container has a heat exchangeunit. The heat exchange unit comprises a heat absorption portion and aheat dissipation portion, which are disposed inside the closed space andoutside the body respectively to assist in conducting heat generated bythe electronic device from the closed space to the outside.

To achieve the aforesaid objectives, the present invention provides acontainer for accommodating an electronic device, which comprises a bodyand a heat exchange unit. The body forms a closed space for receivingthe electronic device. The heat exchange unit connects with the body forguiding heat generated by the electronic device from the closed space tothe exterior of the body. The present invention further provides anelectronic apparatus assembly, which comprises an electronic device andthe aforesaid container.

The detailed technology and preferred embodiments implemented for thesubject invention are described in the following paragraphs accompanyingthe appended drawings for people skilled in this field to wellappreciate the features of the claimed invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a conventional projector;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the first embodiment of the presentinvention, which illustrates a container and an electronic devicecontained therein simultaneously;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the second embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the third embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the fourth embodiment of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the fifth embodiment of the presentinvention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

In reference to FIG. 2, the first embodiment of the present inventiondiscloses a container 5. The container 5 comprises a body 51 which formsa closed space 52 for receiving the electronic device 3. The electronicdevice 3 is disposed inside the container 5 and substantially isolatedfrom the outside.

The container 5 further comprises a heat exchange unit 53 connectingwith the body 51. In more detail, the heat exchange unit 53 comprises aheat absorption portion 531 and a heat dissipation portion 533 thermallyconnecting with the heat absorption portion 531. In this embodiment, theheat absorption portion 531 is disposed inside the closed space 52 ofthe body 51, while the heat dissipation portion 533 is disposed outsidethe body 51. Thereby, heat generated inside the body 51 can be absorbedby the heat absorption portion 531 of the heat exchange unit 53 andfurther conducted to the heat dissipation portion 533 so that the heatgenerated by the electronic device 3 can be conducted from the closedspace 52 to the outside of the body 51.

To improve the heat dissipation efficiency, an airflow 4 flowing in theclosed space 52 may be formed inside the body 51. For convenience ofdescription, a flow path may be formed between the body 51 and theelectronic device 3 so that the airflow 4 circulates along the flowpath. As shown in FIG. 2, the flow path extends upwards from one side ofthe electronic device 3, passes through a space above the electronicdevice 3 and then extends to the other side of the electronic device 3.In practice, the container 5 may further comprise a fan 55 forconducting the airflow, which is disposed at an appropriate positioninside the closed space 52 for driving the airflow 4. The purpose of theairflow 4 is to have the heat generated by the electronic device 3conducted rapidly to the heat absorption portion 531 of the heatexchange unit 53 and further to the heat dissipation portion 533.

One goal of designing of the container 5 is to make it suitable foraccommodating a variety of electronic devices 3 therein. Generallyspeaking, the electronic device 3 typically comprises a housing 31 thathas an airflow inlet 311 and an airflow outlet 313. The airflow isguided into the electronic device 3 through the airflow inlet 311 tocool the internal components and then exits from the electronic device 3through the airflow outlet 313. Further, the conventional electronicdevice 3 may be selectively provided with an intake fan 33 and anexhaust fan 35 at the airflow inlet 311 and the airflow outlet 313respectively.

As illustrated in the schematic view of FIG. 2, when the electronicdevice 3 is disposed in the container 5, the intake fan 33 disposed atthe airflow inlet 311 is adapted to guide the air from the right flowpath into the electronic device 3, and the exhaust fan 33 disposed atthe airflow outlet 313 is adapted to guide the hot air from theelectronic device 3 into the left flow path. The hot airflow thenbecomes a portion of the airflow 4 and is guided upwards from the leftflow path to the heat exchange unit 53, where the airflow 4 passesthrough the upper flow path between the top of the electronic device 3and the heat dissipation portion 531 to the right flow path. Through thecirculation in this way, the airflow 4 can dissipate the heat outwardsfrom the electronic device 3. It shall be noted that for the arrangementshown in FIG. 2, the spacing between the bottom of the electronic device3 and the closed space 52 is preferably minimized so that the airflow 4circulates through the left flow path, the upper flow path and then tothe right flow path as much as possible. This is intended to ensure thatthe airflow 4 flows through the heat exchange unit 54 instead of flowingthrough the bottom of the closed space 52 to the airflow inlet 311directly without passing through the heat exchange unit 53.

Additionally, for the upper flow path defined between the top of theelectronic device 3 and the heat absorption portion 531, it is notlimited that a distance between the electronic device 3 and the heatabsorption portion 531 must exist. Actually, the heat absorption portion531 may also partially or totally make contact with the top of theelectronic device 3. The heat absorption portion 531 may also be of afin design, in which case the upper flow path is formed between the finsfor the airflow 4 to flow therethrough.

The electronic device 3 may be a projector. Because the projector has alens 37 for projecting a light beam, the body 51 may further comprise atransparent portion 511 disposed corresponding to the lens 37. Thereby,the light beam from the lens 37 is operatively projected outwardsthrough the transparent portion 511.

The heat conduction mechanism of the heat exchange unit 53 of thepresent invention may be designed differently depending on the differentneeds. Hereinafter, this will be described with reference to severalembodiments. Because the electronic device 3 inside the container 5 isidentical to that of the first embodiment, it will not be describedagain in the attached drawings and the following description, and thefollowing embodiments will only focus on the heat exchange unit 53.

The second embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 3. Theheat exchange unit 53 further comprises a heat pipe 71 connecting withthe heat absorption portion 531 and the heat dissipation portion 533. Indetail, the heat conduction mechanism of the heat pipe 71 is thatthrough the cycles of evaporation and condensation of a condensateliquid in the closed space, heat energy is absorbed at one end from theheat absorption portion 531 and then released at the other end to theheat dissipation portion 533.

The third embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 4. Theheat exchange unit 53 may further be provided with a cooling fan 73disposed adjacent to the heat dissipation portion 533 to assist indissipating the heat from the heat dissipation portion 533. Thisembodiment may also be combined with the second embodiment, i.e., boththe heat pipe 71 and the cooling fan 73 are disposed. The possibilitiesof their combinations will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill inthe art based on the above disclosures and, thus, will not be depictedin the attached drawings.

The fourth embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 5. Inthis embodiment, the heat exchange unit 53 may further comprise a heatexchanger (HEX) 75 connecting with the heat dissipation portion 533. TheHEX 75 is preferably a water cooling device for conducting heat outwardsfrom the heat dissipation portion 533 rapidly. Similarly, thisembodiment may also be combined with the second embodiment, i.e., theheat pipe 71 is further provided between the heat absorption portion 531and the heat dissipation portion 533.

The fifth embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 6. Inthis embodiment, the heat exchange unit 53 further comprises athermoelectric cooler module 77 connecting with the heat absorptionportion 531 and the heat dissipation portion 533 for conducting heatfrom the heat absorption portion 531 inside the body 51 to the heatdissipation portion 533 outside the body 51 rapidly. This embodiment mayfurther be combined with the cooling fan 73 of the third embodiment andthe HEX 75 of the fourth embodiment; in this case, apart from beingconducted rapidly from the heat absorption portion 531 to the heatdissipation portion 533, the heat is further dissipated from the heatdissipation portion 533 to the outside.

In reference to FIG. 2, when the electronic device 3 is disposed insidethe container 5, the electronic device 3 and the container 5 willtogether form an electronic apparatus assembly 9. Because the electronicdevice 3 is contained in the closed environment formed by the container5, it is less liable to be influenced by the environment. Theembodiments shown in FIGS. 3-6 can certainly be applied to theelectronic apparatus assembly 9.

To make the container 5 suitable for accommodating an existingelectronic device 3, the container 5 shall be openable, for example,having a door structure. After the electronic device 3 is placedtherein, the container 5 may be closed and kept in this closed status.Additionally, because the electronic device may need to connect to apower source and signals, an electrical connector may be disposed insidethe container 5 and extend to the outside of the housing 51 so that theelectronic device 3 can electrically connect to the power source or tothe signals indirectly via the electrical connector. Although these arenot depicted in the attached drawings, they will be readily appreciatedby those of ordinary skill in the art.

According to the above descriptions, by forming a closed space in thecontainer, the electronic device disposed inside the container can besubstantially totally isolated from the outside. This eliminates theneed of installing a conventional filter screen and can further ensurecleanliness in the closed space, so the electronic device is almost freeof influence from dust or foreign matters, thus effectively avoidingpollution or dust accumulation. Furthermore, through the arrangement ofthe heat exchange unit, effective heat dissipation of the electronicdevice is also achieved. All these factors can help in effectivelymaintaining the service life of the electronic device.

The above disclosure is related to the detailed technical contents andinventive features thereof. People skilled in this field may proceedwith a variety of modifications and replacements based on thedisclosures and suggestions of the invention as described withoutdeparting from the characteristics thereof. Nevertheless, although suchmodifications and replacements are not fully disclosed in the abovedescriptions, they have substantially been covered in the followingclaims as appended.

1. A container for accommodating an electronic device, comprising: abody forming a closed space for receiving the electronic device; and aheat exchange unit connecting with the body for guiding heat generatedby the electronic device from the closed space to an exterior of thebody.
 2. The container as claimed in claim 1, wherein the heat exchangeunit comprises a heat absorption portion and a heat dissipation portionthermally connecting with the heat absorption portion, the heatabsorption portion being disposed inside the closed space and the heatdissipation portion being disposed outside the body.
 3. The container asclaimed in claim 2, wherein the closed space is provided with an airflowfor flowing within the body.
 4. The container as claimed in claim 3,wherein the body and the electronic device define an airflow channeltherebetween, the airflow circulating along the airflow channel in theclosed space.
 5. The container as claimed in claim 4, further comprisinga fan disposed in the closed space for conducting the airflow.
 6. Thecontainer as claimed in claim 3, wherein the airflow delivers the heatgenerated from the electronic device to the heat absorption portion. 7.The container as claimed in claim 3, wherein the electronic devicecomprises a housing having an airflow inlet and an airflow outlet, theairflow entering the electronic device through the airflow inlet anddeparting the electronic device through the airflow outlet.
 8. Thecontainer as claimed in claim 7, wherein the electronic device furthercomprises an intake fan and an exhaust fan, the intake fan beingdisposed at the airflow inlet for guiding the airflow into theelectronic device, and the exhaust fan being disposed at the airflowoutlet for guiding the airflow away from the electronic device.
 9. Thecontainer as claimed in claim 2, wherein the heat exchange unit furthercomprises a heat pipe connecting with the heat absorption portion andthe heat dissipation portion.
 10. The container as claimed in claim 2,wherein the heat exchange unit further comprises a cooling fan beingdisposed adjacent to the heat dissipation portion.
 11. The container asclaimed in claim 2, wherein the heat exchange unit further comprises aheat exchanger (HEX) connecting with the heat dissipation portion. 12.The container as claimed in claim 11, wherein the heat exchanger is awater cooling device.
 13. The container as claimed in claim 2, whereinthe heat exchange unit further comprises a thermoelectric cooler moduleconnecting with the heat absorption portion and the heat dissipationportion.
 14. The container as claimed in claim 2, wherein the electronicdevice is a projector, the projector having a lens, the body furthercomprising a transparent portion disposed corresponding to the lens, andthereby a light beam from the lens is operatively projected outwardsthrough the transparent portion.
 15. An electronic apparatus assembly,comprising: an electronic device; a container comprising a body and aheat exchange unit, the body forming a closed space for receiving theelectronic device, and the heat exchange unit connects with the body toguide heat generated by the electronic device from the closed space toan exterior of the body.